The 2023 citrus export season comes off an extremely tough year for growers, with 5.7 million fewer cartons being packed for export in 2022 than was predicted at the start of the season.According to Justin Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa (CGA), 164.8 million cartons were packed for export, while only one in five growers made a positive return – an indication of how challenging the year was.“Many of the challenges are expected to persist in 2023, with some even worsening, such as increased bouts of load-shedding and ever-growing input costs – and as a result, the estimates for a number of varietals show only moderate growth or a decrease when compared to 2022,” he told Freight News.Initial predictions for the season are that exports could fall by around 14% year on year this season, dropping from 164.8m cartons to 142.5m.On the positive side, citrus producers are increasing production, with forecasts that exports could potentially continue to grow by 10m cartons per year (on average) for the next decade, hitting 220m tons being shipped overseas in the next five years and up to 260m in the next ten years.Chadwick said there had been positive growth across citrus varietals in a number of markets in 2022, including Asia (particularly China), the USA and the United Kingdom. “This is attributed to growers having invested billions into increasing their production of top-quality fruit as well as an increase in demand for citrus in these markets. However, several countries offer potential for major growth in 2023 and beyond, which is also critical in light of the predicted overall growth of the local industry which is expected to grow by 10m cartons per year over the next decade. These markets include the United States, India, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Korea. Unfortunately, red tape is preventing these key markets from importing more citrus from South Africa.”He said the US could import an additional 75 000 tons of grapefruit and soft citrus by 2024, creating another 3 750 new jobs within the industry and generating over R1 billion in export revenue. “However, currently only growers in the Western and Northern Cape are permitted to export citrus to the region. Growers in other provinces will only be given access to the US market if a long-delayed final rule is finalised between our governments – a process which has already dragged on for the past six years.”
